Carmelite Spirituality

This post aims at providing a guide to the writings of the Carmelite St. John of the Cross. It has been written by Fr. Tadgh Tierney ocd, Assistant Priest at Infant Jesus Parish. It traces the main themes and stages in the development of a dedicated prayer life as envisaged by the saint. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1926 by Pope Pius 1X, John`s writings are unsurpassed in the field of Christian mysticism. In this outline I will follow the text and individual titles of the various works as set out in `The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross `, in the ICS edition, edited and translated by Kieran Kavanaugh ocd and Otilio Rodriguez ocd, Washington. D.C.

St.Raphael Kalinowski was born to Polish parents in the city of Wilno, Lithuania in 1835. After military service, he was in 1864 condemned to ten years of forced labour in Siberia. In 1877 he joined the Discalccd Carmelite Order and in 1882 was ordained a priest. He brought about the restoration of the Order in Poland and guided its growth. His life was distinguished bv his zeal for Church unity and by his unflagging devotion to the ministry as a confessor and spiritual director. He died in 1907.He was both beatified and canonized by Pope John Paul 11.His Memorial is kept on November 19th.

This outline of the works of St. Teresa of Avila aims at providing a handy guide to her teaching on prayer and the mystical life. With John, she is a Doctor of the Church, mainly because of the richness and completeness of her teaching on prayer. She writes in a lively , conversational style which has been admired by generations of readers in the four centuries since her death. In the following pages you will find an introduction to each of her works as we find them in `The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila,` translated by Kieran Kavanaugh ocd and Otilio Rodriguez ocd, ICS, Washington, published in three volumes. No attempt will be made to treat her voluminous letters, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh in two volumes. This account was written by Tadgh Tierney ocd , a member of the Carmelite Community in Morley, Perth.